


What's Mine Is Not Yours

by CrestfallenCrest27



Series: Banana Bus Squad Superhero AU [2]
Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Kidnapping, M/M, Requests, Was gonna make this a oneshot but it might end up being 2 or 3 chapters, not enough to put actual relationship in, slight h2ovanoss, superhero au, the derp crew have their reasons i swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-10-28 12:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10831572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrestfallenCrest27/pseuds/CrestfallenCrest27
Summary: Craig and Tyler have been dating for over a year, and ever since Craig found out about Tyler's secret life as the superhero Wildcat, things have been going greater than ever, but he should have realized that maybe dating a superhero would put him in danger from time to time. He just never thought he would be the guy who would get kidnapped!





	1. Kidnapping

**Author's Note:**

> "If you're accepting requests, could you continue the Minicat Superhero AU. Do one where Craig is in danger (and possibly gets hurt) and tyler gets protective af and saves him. Thank you in advance if you do this :D " Request by kairoxx-gaming on tumblr.
> 
> I've been wanting to do more superhero aus on the side while I worked on the last few chapters of Blue Demon, and going further into the minicat part of it was a great idea!! This may be a two or three chapter fic bc i really didn't expect it to be that long but yeah, here we are! Hope you enjoy it! - Crest <3

Craig smiled fondly at the sight of the familiar pig figure being shown on the news, standing beside his teammates as they stood victoriously over the group of criminals who had been terrorizing the city for the past few weeks now. 

It had taken a good while for Ohm to hunt them down through the city's system, spending sleepless nights typing away on his laptop while Wildcat and the others spent night after night searching for clues on the group of men who performed the constant horrible acts such as robbery, kidnapping, and even worse, murder. But finally, after all that time, they were caught and Craig and Bryce could stop worrying about how much sleep their boyfriends were getting. 

"It's about time!" Bryce called out, flopping back onto Craig's couch with a smile. Craig grinned widely, looking over at the blonde with a smile. 

"Yeah, maybe I can get Tyler to fucking sleep for once. They've been working too hard to catch these guys..." With a tilt of the head, he raised an eyebrow at Bryce. "Maybe you can get Ryan to leave the base for a once?"

"Already on it." Bryce held up his phone with a smile. "I asked him to come over to my place tonight. When he gets there, I'm gonna give him the best massage he's ever gotten, and then we'll both take a nice bubble bath, then we're both going to take a long nap and then tomorrow, I'm gonna take him out somewhere to eat."

Craig found himself taking a page from Bryce's book as he considered doing all of that stuff with Tyler when he came home. Though, he's never given a massage before so maybe cut that one out, otherwise, he'd probably end up hurting the other. Otherwise, a nice hot shower together, followed by a nap and then a date seemed wonderful. "What about that place down the street from that Wal-mart? The Italian place..."

"I would, but that place is too crowded. You know, Ryan doesn't really do crowds and stuff. Evan suggested some places for me that are quiet and stuff, though. I guess he knows how Ryan can be. Or maybe Delirious suggested it. Either way, I'll look into it." Bryce gestured with his hand as he spoke, something he did a lot, and Craig nodded in understanding as he watched Bryce climb to his feet. "I'm gonna head back to the base then. Go meet up with Ryan, do you wanna come?"

Craig shook his head, getting up as well to walk Bryce to the door. He had told Tyler to come by their apartment after he got finished with all of his superhero stuff and the like. Looking towards the TV, the live news announcement showed that he and Vanoss were still being interrogated by the press but if Wildcat had anything to say about it, they would probably leave soon. 

"I'm gonna stay here. I told Tyler to stop by here anyway." The answer was simple and Bryce accepted it immediately. So with a nod, he headed out the door with a wave.

"Okay, see ya later, Craig!"

"See you later!" Craig waved him off with a smile. He didn't notice a mysterious man standing down the hall, staring him down as he quietly went back into his apartment. 

* * *

  
Less than an hour later, Craig watched as Vanoss and Wildcat made their escape from the press and hurried away to catch up with the rest of the team and Craig took that as his cue to clean up the apartment a little bit before Tyler came home, humming and smiling to himself. 

The two of them had been dating for a little over a year now, and out of that year, he's known Tyler's secret for a few months. Since then, Craig has noticed that their relationship has improved significantly. There were no longer any secrets between the two of them, which began to build up a trust between the two that would be difficult to break. Even now, whenever Tyler had to cancel a date, or leave in the middle of one, Craig would merely laugh it off with a smile, kiss him and wish him luck with saving the world. 

Because of that, they took the next step in their relationship: Living together. It was an accidental thing, really. A lot of the times, Tyler would stay over at Craig's apartment, and nights that were usually filled with heated kissing, fleeting touches or sleepful cuddles turned into rushed mornings where Tyler either had to hurry to his job at the office, or hurry to go and catch some runaway convict that was terrorizing the street in the downtown area. Needless to say, he tended to leave most of his stuff over at Craig's, who would merely shrug it off, wash his clothes and put them away. 

It got to the point where there were hardly any more clothes or games over at Tyler's own apartment. Just worthless junk and nick nacks that he really didn't feel like packing up and moving them. Craig honestly had the mind to go and do it for him, just to make it official. He sighed. Maybe next week...

As he finished up vacuuming the floor, a loud thump on his door was heard, causing him to jump in surprise. He pointed a look towards the door, turning off the vacuum for a moment to listen to see if someone had been knocking and he had just missed it. A moment of silence turned into two before he accepted it as maybe someone passing by had accidentally hit the door with something. It sure did happen a lot when the family with the two twin boys lived in the room across from him. The kids really did like playing ball in the hallway.

His assumption, however, was proven wrong whenever the thump suddenly turned into loud knocking. Oh.

He was curious now. He wasn't expecting any company aside from Tyler, but he had a key so why would he be knocking? Placing the vacuum aside, he frowned and made his way towards the door, thinking of what could possibly be beating on his door. Maybe Tyler lost his key? It wouldn't be the first time it happened, after all, but the fact that the knocking wasn't accompanied by yelling made him think otherwise. 

Maybe it was another noise complaint, but then again, he hadn't really done anything loud today. No yelling at games or no loud music. Maybe the vacuum was too loud but that was something that they would have to get over. 

Reaching for the knob with an annoyed sigh, he opened the door casually and then, he only had a split second to react before he was being pushed to the ground, head hitting the carpeted floor with a loud thud. A gasp shot from his lungs as he tried to push himself up to face whoever it was that had knocked him over, but two hands grabbing onto his waist made him panic. 

"FUCK-- NO, GET OFF--" He suddenly screamed out, swinging an arm around to try and hit his assailant, only for the pair of hands that rested on his waist shot to his own hands and pinned him to the floor.

But that alone didn't stop Craig from thrashing, kicking, screaming, doing anything he could to get away from the mysterious man who was suddenly attacking him. He twisted and turned as his attacker straddled his waist to keep him still and with a scream, he tried to headbutt the bastard, who unfortunately saw that coming. He leaned back a bit, glaring down at Craig before releasing one hand in favor of grabbing onto a fistful of Craig's hair.

"Behave and just come with me quietly. We can do this without you hurting yourself--"

Craig took the chance to get a swing in, flailing his arm widely as he demanded that this man release him. "GET THE FUCK OFF--" He got a few smacks in, earned a few pained grunts from the attacker before he felt a yank in his hair. There was a brief moment of his panic intensifying before the man swiftly slammed his head onto the floor below him. The pain shot through his head and left him stunned and confused, giving the middle aged man that sat on top of him just enough time to deliver a swift punch to his face.

Craig was knocked out immediately.

* * *

  
It took forever for Tyler to get away from the press and it took even longer for him to get away from the guys at the base. 

Don't get him wrong, he loved hanging out with the guys, but after dealing with all of that bullshit with that group of convicts that kept slipping out of their grasp for God knows how long, he just really wanted to get away from all of the loudness, lay down in his-- In Craig's bed, and just take a fucking nap. 

Along with the grumpiness from the lack of sleep, he also had to deal with those convicts rubbing him the wrong way. Their entire existence pissed Tyler off, and he was pretty sure it was because of all of the robberies they pulled that they ended up having to report, or all of the families broken because of the men and women they murdered. And after all of that, when Vanoss and him finally cornered those fuckers, they had the nerve to smile. Smile like they had won. It pissed him off so bad.

It also unnerved him like you wouldn't believe.

Vanoss noticed it too, bringing it up when they were heading back to the base. The rest of the group noticed, but just as quickly shrugged it off.

"They was just being fuckin' wack jobs or somethin'." Delirious mentioned, throwing his machete carelessly onto the floor the moment they walked into their base. Brock shot the masked man a small glare, about to mention that someone could trip over that when Brian walked in and immediately tripped over it. Tyler laughed as Brock sighed, tiredly. 

"Wack job is a word for it, yeah." Luke flopped down on the nearby couch, running his red hand through his hair as he leaned back into the cushions. "Fuckin' monsters is another one. Pricks. Jackasses. Disturbing excuses for humans. Whatever."

"Evan does kinda have a point..." Brock spoke up, moving to pick up the machete only to let out an irritated huff when Delirious ran over to snatch it away like someone had stolen his toy. "Getting arrested isn't something to grin about."

"They were grinning because they fucking got away with that shit for like a month or so before getting caught!" Luke sat back up, eyes narrowing at the others. "They think they won or some shit because they got to do whatever they wanted for a fucking month and now the people are terrified. Whenever the news or the paper talk about these fellas, people are gonna be scared shitless."

Evan still didn't see so sure about it but he dropped it for now, in favor of getting some rest in. Brock decided to ask Ohm about what he could find, whenever the other got back from his date with Bryce. That pushed Craig into Tyler's mind and he smiled lightly before heading for the door. "Well, you fuckboys have fun with all of that. I'm going home to Craig and I'm dragging his ass to bed and taking a nap." 

He heard Delirious and Luke snicker, he saw the small smirk on Evan's face followed by the sweet smile that made its way onto Brock's face. "Tell him hi for me." 

"Yeah, sure thing." Tyler walked out the door, trying to ignore the giggles that bubbled out of Delirious' throat.

One walk around the block and a bus ride to Craig's apartment left Tyler with enough time to get some rest in before he had to face his boyfriend's energetic personality. He loved Craig with his life, and would do anything to make him happy, but sometimes the boy was difficult to keep up with. He was always loud with his words, always expressive with his face and Tyler loved every bit of it, even if it got too overwhelming at times. 

But as he stepped up to the door to Craig's apartment, he was curious when he heard no noise whatsoever from behind the door. It was different, but it didn't spark any panic into the man just yet. 

The fact that the door was unlocked was a bit more concerning. Craig never really had the door unlocked, since he was a bit of a paranoid type of guy. He always had headphones on when he played games, or listened to music and the last thing he wanted was for someone to waltz into his house and bury a knife into his back. Tyler thought that scenario was always silly. 

Now, he's not so sure.

He's greeted with dead silence when he walks inside of the apartment. The lights are fully on, the TV is buzzing on lightly with some sort of pointless sitcom playing in the background and the vacuum cleaner is leaned up against the couch as if left there suddenly. Tyler frowned, stepping deeper into the apartment, checking the bathroom to see if maybe his boyfriend was taking a shower, and then checking his office to see if maybe the boy was hiding in there. 

Craig was nowhere to be found.

"Babe?" Tyler began to call out, confusion settling as he began to fish out his own phone, intent on calling the other if he didn't hear an answer. Silence followed and suddenly he began to worry, clicking the speed dial to call Craig's phone.

He wasn't expecting to hear Craig's phone go off across the room. The ringtone rung loudly throughout the room, and Tyler glanced over towards the counter it laid on... and then he noticed something small laying on the floor, right in front of the door. Something he clearly missed. 

Craig's glasses. 

Craig, as cliche as it sounded, couldn't see well without his glasses. And he would never leave the house without them. Suddenly, the realization and panic hit Tyler like a ton of bricks as he snatched the glasses from the ground. Upon further examination, the frame was bent and one of the lens was slightly cracked and it only confirmed his fears.

Something happened to Craig. 

There was no hesitation when he dialed Evan's number, trying to control his breathing until his friend answered the phone. 

_"Hello? What's up, man?"_

"Evan..." Tyler whispered, voice cracking as he stared down at the pair of glasses down in his hands. Evan picked up on it immediately. 

_"Tyler? What's up, man? Are you okay? Did you get home okay?"_

Tyler was unsure of what to say. Not sure how to put it so, he whispered the first and only thing that was on his mind. "Craig--" He started, choking on the worry before he suddenly began to seethe in anger. "Craig's gone, Evan-- He's not here-- His fucking glasses are on the fucking ground, all busted up and you KNOW he can't see without them and--"

Evan cut him off. _"What? What do you mean? He's gotta be there, right? Did you check--"_

"Evan, he's GONE. Something happened and if something happened to Craig, I'm going to punch a fucker's fucking HEAD off." Tyler snapped into the phone, knowing full well that he was more than capable of doing so. The pros of being a half-human, half-pig hybrid that was constantly tested on in a hidden lab tended to have some side effects after all. One of those side effects happened to give him a little bit of super strength, which he thought was weird, but he wasn't judging. "Listen, Evan, get some of the guys over here, NOW. I want answers. Bring Brian especially. Maybe that cybernetic bullshit can help up."

_"...Alright. Hang tight. We'll be there soon."_

* * *

  
When Craig woke up, he was greeted with a splitting headache and a bright but fuzzy light shining into his eyes, making the headache worse. His ears rung loudly and his entire body ached. He groaned loudly, moving to grab at his head, only to realize that he couldn't move his arms. Like, at all. 

He started to become more aware of his predicament immediately, realizing he was sitting up in a chair with his feet tied to the legs, and his arms bound tightly behind him. The giant spotlight shining into his face made it near impossible to see anything else in the room, not to mention the fact that his glasses were just completely gone. To save his poor eyes, he shut them tightly and grumbled out.

"Anyone there...? This isn't that funny... Hello?" He spoke softly, trying to avoid giving himself more of a headache than he already had. The back of his head in particular hurt the worst and it was almost like it was throbbing and as he licked his lips, he could have sworn he tasted blood. Lovely.

A voice in the room caught his attention, a voice he didn't recognize at all. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. It's about time you woke up. I didn't think I knocked you out that hard."

Craig wasn't sure how to respond, really. His mind struggled to remember the events that led up to this point, but his aching head made that difficult. Suddenly, something blocked the blinding light and Craig was left staring up at a blurry, dark figure who stared back down at him. 

"Wh-Who are you?" He mumbled, leaning back into the chair to get as much distance from the guy as possible. A rough hand shot out and grabbed him by the chin before roughly pulling him forward as if to get a better look at his face. Craig's arms began to ache from such an awkward angle. 

"Let's just say that I am someone very annoyed and very angry with the actions of your super-powered friends and leave it at that." The grip on his chin tightened and Craig felt his chest tighten. Suddenly, Craig's head was turned to the side as the man above him examined him closely. "I was expecting you to be a bit more special than this but you're actually a pretty normal man. Not that great looking either."

 _'True,'_ Craig immediately agreed, though he was smart enough to keep it to himself. Instead he shot a weak glare towards his kidnapper, who could only laugh. The hand released his chin and Craig turned away from the dark figure that was still obscured by his poor vision and the light casting it's ominous shadow. "Seriously, who the fuck are you? What are you talking about? What-- What do you want from me?!"

Craig already had a decent idea of what this guy wanted. He was possibly one of the many criminals who tried their hand at trying to beat Wildcat, Vanoss and the others, and was likely thwarted and tossed in jail. So, why was he here and not in jail? Maybe he escaped? Maybe he was never caught? It was a mystery but the important matter was that he was apparently researching and maybe spying? He somehow managed to get just enough information to connect himself to Wildcat.

So, he wasn't in a good position so he began to pretend that he had no connections to the superhero team whatsoever.

"I really don't understand...!" Craig's voice cracked, as he stared up at the blurred figure in front of him. "I--I don't have any-- I'm not friends with those superhero guys! I really don't know what you--" A hand slapped his face as hard as possible, making Craig fall into a stunned silence. And then suddenly the hand was on his chin again.

"I'm going to make this very simple for you, Craig Thompson." Craig didn't like how this guy knew or said his full name. "There's no point lying to me. I already know about your relationship with Wildcat. My boys have had their eyes on you for a while now. So you're going to answer my questions honestly, and then you might just get to leave here alive."

Craig whimpered a little. "Might..?" He repeated and in the darkness, he saw a grin. 

"That depends if Wildcat actually decides if you're worth coming after or not."


	2. Gathering Information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... took a long while. Sorry for any mistakes, but it's currently 5:22 AM, I have work in four hours, and instead of sleeping, I'm... writing. Because my priorities are totally straight. Sorry. - <3 Crest

Vanoss crossed his arms and leaned against Craig's wall as he and Delirious watched Wildcat pace around the room. Nearby, Terroriser crouched on the floor, running a hand quietly against the wood beneath him as he scanned the area for any clues. Waiting for him to finish up and tell them what he had found was driving Wildcat insane, Vanoss could tell that but they both knew that they shouldn't disturb Terroriser at the moment, not when Craig could be in real possible danger.

As a cyborg, Terroriser had to ability to take in the room and scan over it, finding even the tiniest details that seemed out of place and making it into a report if needed. It just wasn't as quick as Terroriser wanted it to be, but then again, he had mentioned before that he was considered a failure back where he was created. Vanoss figured it was mostly because he had an attitude that most cyborgs lacked. He assumed, anyway.

His attention was pulled back to Wildcat, who seemed to be getting closer and closer to raging at every minute and Vanoss was worried about what he would go and do if that happened, so he stepped up to calm down his best friend. "Hey, Wildcat, calm down. Craig will be fine once we find his location. Whatever Terroriser finds, we'll send the data to Ohm and maybe he can figure out who took him."

Delirious decided to pop in, eyes shining from behind his mask. "And then we'll make him pay~" He sung out, following it by a maniacal giggle as his fingers inched towards the machete that clung to the belt on his waist. Vanoss rolled his eyes, catching Delirious' attention. "W-What?! I'm mad too, I wanna... wanna slice this son of a bitch to pieces, thankyouverymuch."

Wildcat shot a glare at Delirious. "No, if anyone's killing this fucker, it's me! And if this asshole hurt Craig whatsoever, there won't be a body left to worry about."

From behind Wildcat, Terroriser pursed his lips to keep from saying something. Vanoss took note of it and began to worry about the Cyborg's findings. "Delirious, you're not helping." Vanoss quickly snapped down at the masked man next to him before directing his eyes back at Wildcat. "Wildcat, it's super important that you calm down for this. We're saving Craig, but if you lose control of your anger, then you might do something that you regret, and that will lead to Craig getting hurt, so calm the hell down!"

Wildcat went silent, taking in Vanoss' words and for a moment, he thought that maybe he had gotten through to the pig man but when his hands were violently shoved off of him, he could only sigh in defeat. "I won't calm down, because someone managed to find me. They found Tyler and because of that, they found Craig! And now he's missing!"

Terroriser suddenly spoke up. "Hey, uh, Vanoss?"

"Wha--"

Wildcat cut Vanoss off immediately. "What did you find?" He advanced upon Terroriser with hope in his eyes. Both Vanoss and Delirious visibly flinched when Terroriser looked away, guiltily.

"I... Uh... found two things." Terroriser held up a single, short strand of hair towards Wildcat, only to snatch it away when the other reached for it. "I found this, scanned it and collected the data on it and it doesn't match Craig's DNA so I mean... we found a lead?"

Vanoss, Wildcat and Delirious simultaneously sighed in relief. A lead meant that they would be finding Craig soon, and that hopefully, Wildcat wouldn't lose it too much.

"...The bad news is, I also found a single speck of blood on the floor... that did match with Craig's DNA."

Vanoss spoke too soon. There was a quick _'Oh shit'_ from Delirious before they both stared down Wildcat in fear. The man stood there quietly, staring down at Terroriser, who could only shift uncomfortably at his spot on the floor. Vanoss and Delirious exchanged glances, wondering what to do, only to be startled when Wildcat spoke in a voice just above a whisper.

"Terroriser... Send whatever data you get over to Ohm. Right the fuck now." He growled out, clenching a fist as he grabbed his cell phone, watching as Terroriser quickly nodded.

"A-Already did that--"

"Good." Tyler quickly dialed Ohm's number, listening to the dial tone before the other picked up. "Ohm, you should'a got info from Terroriser."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, followed by shuffling and a familiar voice in the background whining for Ohm to get back to sleep, before Ohm spoke up. _"Oh, yeah, I did. What's up, what's going on--"_

"Ohm, I don't care if you have to search every file in the god damn city. Every medical file, every worker's file, every student's file, I don't. Care." Tyler's voice grew loud and intense and Vanoss was tempted to take the phone away and explain the situation. "Find the person who matches up with that DNA and find out where they are. They have Craig and I want to rip them apart. Find. Them."

There's another beat of silence, and then there's muffled voices in the background again before Ohm replied. _"They have Craig? Really...? Shit-- Fine, okay, Bryce and I will head back to base and start looking into it. Are you heading back too?"_

Tyler spared one look towards Vanoss before answering. "Yeah. Be there soon." And with that, he hung up.

* * *

  
"...Craig is really missing...?" Bryce's voice was small as he gripped onto the blanket that laid over him. He watched as Ryan slowly placed the phone down onto his desk and moved back over to the bed they were laying on moments ago.

Ryan could only nod as he sat down next to his boyfriend, tired eyes staring down at him. "Yeah... apparently. Tyler didn't give me the details, but Terroriser sent me a file or two to go off on. Gonna have to take the laptop down to base and find out where that data leads."

Bryce frowned and Ryan knew that getting Bryce to agree to more work was going to be difficult. He leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss on top of his boyfriend's fluffy blonde hair and smiled as he ran a gentle hand down Bryce's waist. Bryce could only whine in protest. "Ryan, you haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a while... "

"Yes, I have!" Ryan was met with a doubtful eyebrow raise. "...Okay, maybe not, but Brycey-poo, this is for Craig. You know, one of our friends." That reminder alone would likely be enough to change Bryce's mind, since he loved Craig to death after all. He knew the two seemed to bond over having superheros as boyfriends.

Bryce whined again and leaned his head against Ryan's chest, sighing as a hand moved up to his head and fingers began to tangle themselves in his hair. "Fine, you're right... I want Craig back safe and sound, just... try and take it easy, okay?" He pulled away, taking hold of Ryan's wrists in favor of pulling the smaller boy over to give him a small but romantic kiss on the lips.

Ryan giggled as they both pulled away. "I'll try."

"Yeah, yeah, now go put on the bunny hoodie, you dork."

* * *

  
Craig was grateful when the light that shined bright into his eyes suddenly decided to cut out. Granted, he couldn't see shit without the light either, seeing as the room was pitch black (or he was just blind now) but it was a lot better than dealing with the headache that the light produced.

His kidnapper had long left the room, promising to get some answers out of him which left Craig unnerved as all hell. God, he had wished that he had gotten a better look at his attacker when he was trying to fight him off back at his apartment but all he could remember was a blur as his glasses were knocked off, along with swinging fists as he tried to get away. All he could remember was that the man had brown, fluffy hair? And even that, he wasn't too sure about. He tended to speak in such a sing-song tone as well, with a grin hiding behind his voice. Craig wondered who he was and what he had against Wildcat and the rest.

His limbs began to ache from the uncomfortable position that he was tied down in and finally, he eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Not that it mattered much, because from what he could see, the entire room was empty, save for one window near the ceiling that showed the night sky that was shrouded in clouds. What time was it anyway? It had to be past midnight...

He heard voices speak from behind the door, muffled but still clear enough to listen into the conversation. There was more than one person?

_"So, you really did get him? Right guy this time?"_

_"Shut the fuck up, of course it's the right guy. ... Right? Craig Thompson? There was a guy that was there with him before hand but I know for sure that it wasn't him."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"Because he's in my-- I'll explain later, Ze, Jesus."_

_"Okay, fine. What did Nanners say?"_

Craig squinted and shifted in his seat, noticing how the chair moved with his own movements. Perfect. He began to scoot closer to the door, trying to make as little noise as possible in an attempt to gather as much info about his kidnappers as possible. Ze and Nanners? Those were some weird names, and it made him believe that maybe they were aliases, much like Wildcat and Vanoss were.

_"He's on his way, and wants us to get some answers from this kid in the meantime. Mostly where Vanoss and Wildcat have their base hidden at."_

Craig thought back to the day where Tyler took him to their hidden little base. He had introduced him to a man named Scott, or otherwise known as Mr. Sark. He learned that Sark was the person who found and took in Evan and Tyler when they escaped from the lab that gave them their hybird features and powers in the first place. In Sark's backyard, was a shed, and in that shed was a hidden hatch that lead underground to a large, hidden room where the group of superheros go if they need to hide out or just plan out an idea for action.

He pictured Tyler and the group in there at that very moment, trying to find a way to get to him. He knew he couldn't sell them out like this.

_"Okay, so why am I here? He's a normal guy, you could easily charm him and get what you want from him."_

_"Okay, you know that doesn't always work. I need you as bad cop, Ze!"_

_"Chilled, we kidnapped this guy! We're both bad cops here!"_

_"SHHHHHUT. Shut up. Come help me, Ze, god dammit."_

_"Fine, just go."_

Craig immediately stopped squirming and had his eyes planted on the door as the two men made their way in. Despite his blurry vision and how dark it was, Craig could immediately tell that one of the men was the exact one that had kidnapped him from his own home. The other man, however, was a new one. While Craig couldn't see his face that well, he did notice the red wool hat with horns sitting on top of his head. Strange but noteworthy.

They both trailed up to him, staring down at him. Craig stared back, squinting lightly. There was a loud moment of silence between the three before Craig finally took the chance to speak.

"Wh...What? Seriously, what do you want? I don't know anything!" He tried to insist but the man from before-- Chilled, if he was guessing right-- suddenly fell down on one knee, next to his chair. He stared into Craig's eyes with a small smile on his face as his friend-- Ze?-- went to go lean against the nearby wall.

"Oh, I think you do know, Craig." Craig suddenly found it incredibly hard to look away from those eyes. Something about them were very... enticing. "Do you know, Craig? You have to tell me if you do."

The answer was out of his mouth before he could even think to stop it. "Yes, I do--" He gasped and stared back at Chilled with wide eyes. Chilled could only laugh as he placed a hand on Craig's cheek, patting it playfully.

"See, that wasn't so hard! Good boy, good boy!"

Craig began to panic, eyes darting around the room as he tried to think of a way to backtrack. He wasn't sure what made him suddenly reveal that he knew what they were talking about and why the words stumbled out of his mouth without hesitation. It was almost as if against his will...?

"Wait-- No, I didn't mean--" Craig stole a glance back towards Chilled, seeing those eyes stare back. His attention was stolen by the man once more as he focused hard on his kidnapper, taking in more features than before.

Brown fluffy hair, stuffed in what seemed to be a ... Mario hat? Seriously? If it wasn't such a serious situation, Craig would have laughed, but as it were, he was speechless as he stared at the sly smile on his face, and the shining brown eyes that were trained on his face. Something about the eyes stood out especially and he wasn't sure why.

"You didn't mean it?" Chilled blinked, leaning forward slightly. "No, I think you did. You know Vanoss and his group, right?"

Again, Craig couldn't stop himself. "Y...Yes."

Chilled's smile grew. "And you just so happen to be dating Wildcat, right?"

Craig hesitated and tried so hard to keep it from being said, but something forced him to speak and he hated himself more than anything. "...We are... yes..." He noticed how proud Chilled seemed to look.

"And now, you're going to tell us where he's hiding, right?"

Craig felt his stomach drop as he pursed his lips together as tight as possible. No, he couldn't tell them where they base was. That was too dangerous and he would be putting his best friend's in danger-- He would be putting Tyler in danger! He couldn't do that, no matter what. But the words were just on the tip of his tongue, threatening to spill and he almost wanted to bite his own tongue if it were to stop him from speaking.

Ze took note of his struggle immediately and clicked his tongue. "He's resisting, Chilled."

Chilled shot a glare back before gripping Craig's chin tightly. "Tell us where they are, now, and you'll be a-okay. Pretty simple deal, right?" He made sure to make direct eye contact with Craig, who was beginning to have a pretty decent idea of what was happening here.

So, in a final attempt to make Chilled stop, he swung his head down with full force, headbutting Chilled in the process. His headache became worse and Chilled suddenly fell to the floor with a scream as Ze ran to his side.

"OUCH, SON OF A BITCH, WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU--"

"Oh my god, Chilled, he knocked the shit out of you!"

_"YEAH, NO SHIT, BABE. NO SHIT."_

Craig shut his eyes tightly, bowing his head in an attempt to make the pain go away. In the mean time, he focused on the noises around him. The sounds of Ze helping Chilled to his feet, Chilled cursing and complaining about how his nose may be bleeding, and then the sudden footsteps towards his chair--

Wait.

That was his only warning before his chair was completely kicked over by Ze, sending Craig and the chair tumbling over with a loud slam. Craig whined in pain, choking when a foot sharply connected with his gut. As he was sent into a coughing fit, Ze moved over to Chilled as he glared down at their hurt prisoner.

"C'mon, we'll go clean up your nose and then we'll try something else."

Chilled whined in protest. "I almost had him..."

"Chilled, your nose is pouring blood. Go, now."

Craig coughed loudly again, glancing over his shoulder to watch as Chilled and Ze began to bicker amongst each other, while a stream of red made it's way down Chilled's face. Finally, they both directed a glare towards Craig, who could only shrink back in fear. He thought he was going to receive another kick in the gut but finally, Chilled turned and hurried out as a hand quickly ran to his nose.

Ze could only spare one last look at Craig. "I should blind you right now, you jerk, but Chilled can't get anything from you if you can't see." He growled out, before hurrying after Chilled, slamming the door behind him and leaving Craig behind to ponder what his words meant.

Craig was left in the dark once more, still tied to the chair that now laid back on the floor. His head ached, his limbs were stiff and his eyes began to water. Finally, he whimpered out into the darkness, pathetically. "Fucking... shit-- Tyler, you better come and save me, please..."

* * *

  
"How fucking long does it take to find one guy?!"

Ohm and Terroriser both glanced up from the laptop with a frown. Wildcat stood across the desk with arms crossed as he stared down at them impatiently. Instinctively, Ohm grabbed for his laptop and pulled it closer, hoping that the other didn't lose his patience too badly which resulted in his baby getting thrown across the room. Terroriser didn't seem to flinch and instead, offered an annoyed frown in return.

"There's A LOT of fuckin' people in the city and I'm sure Ohm is flattered that you think he can find our culprit that fast--"

"I am." Ohm piped in with a small smile.

"--But we need some fucking time, man."

Wildcat stared down Terroriser for a moment, before glancing towards Ohm, who could only nod in agreement with the latter. The stare lasted longer than Ohm wanted before he realized that Wildcat wanted his opinion on the investigation, so he turned his laptop around to show the statistics on his computer currently being scanned.

"We're more than halfway through the scan of the city now." Ohm explained, pointing the list that grew smaller by the second. "If we're lucky, the kidnapper is from this city and we'll be able to find hospital files or something to hack into and get all of the details we need. If he's NOT from the city, then this might take a little longer since we'll have to scan the neighboring towns and cities and if that fails..."

Wildcat made a face of disgust. "He better be from around here. My boyfriend's in danger and I will turn this city over to fucking find him."

Ohm sighed and glanced across the room, settling his gaze on the man who had the owl masked tucked neatly next to his lap. Vanoss looked back, realizing that Ohm was asking for help to calm Wildcat down. Seemed like that was quickly becoming part of his job description. He sighed and patted the seat next to him.

"Wildcat, just come here and sit down before Delirious comes in here and steals your seat. Leave Ohm and Terroriser alone, they need to concentrate if they're gonna find Craig."

Wildcat looked back at Vanoss, and then back at Ohm and Terroriser, watching as the latter waved his hand in a shoo-ing motion. Wildcat wanted to slap the hand away, but accepted defeat instead and moved to flop down next to Vanoss, who threw his arm around the other's shoulders in an attempt to comfort.

"You'd get how I feel if it were your boyfriend..." Wildcat grumbled.

Vanoss blinked and frowned. "I don't have a boyfriend." There was an obvious snort that came from both Ohm and Terroriser. "What?! I don't!"

Wildcat rolled his eyes as he remembered all of the times he walked in on Delirious and Vanoss basically hanging off each other as if the other depended on it, all the times he walked in to see Delirious' fingers tangled into the feathers of Vanoss' wings and any other time, he'd shout at Vanoss over how fucking blind they were but at the moment, he didn't have the energy.

No, all he wanted right now was Craig to come back safe and sound. After that, he could relax. "Fuck it, nevermind, Evan. You'll get it one day."

Vanoss shrugged and tilted his head to the side as he stared at the door. "I dunno, maybe. I'm not shrugging off your feelings though, dude. You have a right to be upset, but you gotta understand that we're doing everything we can right now to find Craig, and if you pressure us, then... it could lead us to mess up. And that can put Craig in danger."  
Vanoss felt Wildcat tense up, so he squeezed his shoulder in return.

"Treat this how we treat every person we have to save. Take a deep breath and just focus on the mission and not the _'What ifs'._ Okay?"

They saved people all the time from life and death situations. There had been some failures here and there but they were always so rare and it was never really their faults, even though they tended to believe so. He figured that Vanoss had a point and the more he thought it through, the more he realized that Craig would still be alive for the time being. They wouldn't have kidnapped him otherwise.

They wanted something from him, he knew it. It was just a matter of time.

"...Oh, hey hey, is this the guy?" Terroriser's voice spoke loudly through the room, grabbing Wildcat's and Vanoss' attention instantly.

Wildcat jumped to his feet and quickly ran over to Ohm and his laptop, looking over the boy's shoulder to get a good look at the photo on the screen. It was a student photo, it seemed, of a boy in his early twenties with brown fluffy hair, wide brown eyes with slight facial hair connecting from his hair down to his chin. The name on the I.D. was Anthony Caos and Wildcat was ready to head out the door that second to find this kid.

"This guy is our culprit, Ohm?" He growled, grabbing at the screen to get a better look. He felt Vanoss lean over him as well to get a look at the kidnapper's face. "This is the match from the hair we found?"

Ohm didn't respond, and instead began to examine the information more thoroughly. Terroriser took the chance to answer instead. "It's a perfect match! We just have to investigate this guy a little more just in case but it's starting to seem likely. Right Ohm?" No answer. "...Ohm?"

Ohm stared at the screen a little longer before glancing back up. "Hey, where did Bryce go?" He looked between the three questionably before watching as Vanoss motioned towards the door.

"He went into the next room to make some hot chocolate. Why?"

Almost as if on queue, Bryce and Brock both wandered into the room with small trays with the cups of hot chocolate on them. Terroriser's eyes lit up at the sight of the cups and even Tyler couldn't help but feel happy at the thought of getting something warm into his body. Ohm, however, climbed to his feet immediately, with laptop in hand.

"Hey, guys, sorry for the way. Sark showed up and stole one of the drinks so we had to make an extra." Brock immediately handed one to Tyler and then to Brian with a smile before taking a seat where Vanoss sat minutes before. "Delirious took one too, and now he's passed out on the couch. Remind me to grab a blanket."

"Yeah, yeah, we will." Ohm nodded, hurrying over to Bryce. "Hey, Brycey? Babe? This is your school right here, right?"

As Ohm showed the screen to Bryce, all eyes were on the blonde as they simultaneously remembered that the boy was still attending classes at college and Wildcat wondered what sort of coincidence it had to be that Bryce would be attending the same school at Craig's kidnapper.

Bryce stared hard at the screen as he took a sip of his hot chocolate before nodding. "Yeah, I do. How come?"

Ohm nodded in understanding, scrolling back up the screen before pointing at their suspect. "Have you seen this guy around? Anthony Caos?"

Bryce stared at the face, sipping at his cup again as he tried to remember if he had seen this man before. Finally, his face lit up in recognition and he smiled, nodding quickly. "Yeah, I see him on school grounds a lot. He kinda has his own group, but I've talked to him before. He actually helped me with a science project at one point. He's pretty cool, he..."

Bryce suddenly trailed off, face going blank for a moment. Brock and Terroriser exchanged confused glances, Wildcat stepped towards Ohm and Bryce anxiously while Vanoss chewed on his lip in thought. Suddenly, when Bryce's blank stare turned into one of horror, Ohm nudged at him with worry.

"Bryce?"

"Oh my gosh-- Crap-- Oh crap--" The cup was suddenly put aside clumsily as realization hit the young boy. Hands grabbed at his own cheeks in shock as he continued to panic. "Ryan, I saw him! He was there-- I was leaving Craig's that night! As I was leaving, I passed by him!"

"What?!" _"WHAT?!"_

Ohm and Wildcat both screamed in unison as they listened to Bryce's explanation.

"I-- I didn't think anything of it! He wasn't doing anything at all! Like-- I remember making eye contact with the guy and then I left and I just totally forgot everything about it! I just figured that he lived in an apartment there!" Bryce stared at Wildcat in worry and horror as Ohm put the laptop aside in a hurry.

"So, this fucker was actually there when Bryce left." Tyler concluded, fist clenching before turning back towards Vanoss. "We don't fucking need proof. We're going to find this guy right now and demand some fucking answers! His DNA matches up and he was there so it's fucking obvious he did it."

"Now hold on--" Brock held up his hand, easing the tension in the room instantly. "We can't just storm off and beat him up. We have to do this carefully, because we don't know who else is involved. We find him and talk to him peacefully and see what he wants."

"Then we beat him up." Terroriser grinned, earning a small pap from Brock in response. The cyborg quickly frowned and rubbed his arm in mock offense.

Before Wildcat could deny the idea, Vanoss immediately piped in with his own idea. "I mean, the kid has to go to class at some point. Can't we get Bryce to talk to him?"

Everyone flinched when Ohm practically threw his laptop aside in favor of grabbing onto Bryce's wrist. "No way, out of the question! That's too dangerous."

"Not alone, dumbass! I was going to send you too, out of disguise, of course. Maybe send Delirious if we need to capture him? He's good at that." Vanoss shrugged, crossing arms over his chest. "If shit goes wrong, you can mess with some memories while Delirious does... what Delirious does."

"Why can't I go?!" Tyler exclaimed, gritting teeth at his owl hybrid friend.

"Because you'd probably kill him before we get any answers from him! And besides, Delirious is good at that capturing shit. He's kidnapped people before." A subtle reminder that at one point Delirious and Cartoonz both weren't on the good side as they were now. A reminder that at one point, they kidnapped, stole and murdered to make a living.

Vanoss shuddered thinking about it, but it was fine now. They were on their side. They were trying to redeem themselves. "We get Bryce to let his guard down, try and get some answers, Delirious there to capture him for questioning afterwards or if things go south, and Ohm to erase some memories if people see or if he finds out something he shouldn't. It's a plan, right?"

Ohm reluctantly let out a noise of agreement, looking to Bryce to see if he was fine with this plan. The blonde smiled back, running a hand across his cheek gently. "I'll be okay, promise."

Tyler huffed loudly in distaste, but said nothing else to object to the plan. Instead, he looked back at Evan, staring him into his golden eyes. "I want to be on back up, then. If anything." Vanoss hesitated but Wildcat persisted. "Evan, fucking-- please, man."

Vanoss stared back, eyes softening as he contemplated it. Finally, with a sigh, he shoved his hands into his pockets and nodded. "We'll both be on standby. Both of us. I'll try and keep you from doing something stupid."

"Fuck you, I'll be fine." Tyler crossed his arms as if offended but there was just a tiny bit of a smile on his face. "...Thanks dude."

"No problem." Vanoss looked towards Brock and Terroriser and gestured towards the nearby door. "I'll let the others know the plan. We'll start the plan tomorrow. Everyone else is gonna hang out here unless I call for back up. Understood?"

Brock nodded with a smile. "Yes sir!"

Terroriser grinned and nodded, giving a mock salute. "Alrighty, boss."

Vanoss grinned and took one more look around the room. "ALRIGHT! Let's go over what the plan for tomorrow is." There's a beat of silence before he speaks again. "...So who wants to wake up Delirious?"

"Nope."

"Not me."

"Nah."

"Have fun, Evan."

"Fuck."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some background notes here:  
> Surprise! Derp Crew is here! And they also have powers! Ze in particular has the ability to produce bright lights, and can easily blind a fucker. And Chilled has the ability to charm someone into doing ANYTHING he wants, so long as he's looking someone in the eye. He mostly uses it to get people to tell him whatever he wants to know.
> 
> As for Delirious! Surprise, he actually doesn't have powers! I'm hoping to write a fic about how he knows Vanoss and how he joins the group one day but that's a fic for another day.
> 
> As for everyone else's powers, you can always ask me in the comments and I can tell you if they're not that spoiler-y or you can send me an ask on tumblr (crestfallencrest27) and I can talk about it c: anyway, should be one more chapter, hopefully! Hope you enjoyed! - <3 Crest


	3. Plan In Action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is long overdue, and it was supposed to be way longer, but the confrontation ended up giving me problems, so sorry if that seems ooc/poorly written. I tried my best, sorry :c (and i know i said this was the last chapter but it just didn't work out that way x-x) - <3 Crest

It was the sun that woke Craig up the next morning, rays of light peeking through the windows and onto his face. His arms and legs were stiff and his neck was aching and only God knew how long he had been on this position on the floor, tied to a chair. He kind of wished that Chilled or Ze had come back to at least pick him up, but he supposed that headbutting your kidnapper in the face was something that got you a little punishment. 

He wondered how long it would be until Tyler came to save him. Surely, he had to, right? He was a superhero and he's saved people from situations like this countless of times. Why would he be any different? But still, he might just have to scold him for taking too long. After all, he really couldn't feel his arms anymore. It kinda sucked.

He licked at his lips, salty from last nights tears along with the copper taste of old blood from his nose and sighed. He'd kill for something to drink or something to eat. These people surely didn't know how to treat a prisoner, if they were like the criminals he would see in TV shows. And Chilled sure liked to act like he was, if the last encounter was anything to go by.

He knew that someone else would be arriving to see him soon. Some man named Nanners. It was definitely a weird name, that's for sure but the way Chilled and Ze talked about him, he was likely in charge of the kidnapping. 

What he wanted with Tyler and Evan, he had no idea. 

He sighed and attempted to move his arms, flinching at the sudden tingling that shot through his arms that were likely asleep from being still for so long. "Jesus Christ..." He grumbled, throat dry as sandpaper as his head dropped weakly against the floor. "I can't stay here like this... Gotta get out..." 

He continued weakly moving his arms against the rope tied tightly around his wrists, trying to losing the rope at least a little bit. Grunting to himself, he knew that it was going to be a long day. 

* * *

  
"I don't like this. It's too bright outside." Jonathan crossed his arms with a pout as he squinted up at the bright morning sky above them. 

The campus grounds were bustling with students trying to hurry to their first class of the day, none of them sparing even a second glance over at the group of newly arrivals on campus. Bryce almost wanted to laugh. The students had no idea that the famous superheros Ohmwrecker, H2ODelirous, Vanoss and Wildcat were standing there, next to him. It was pretty amazing, if he was honest. 

"You know..." Evan spoke up, watching as Jonathan glared up at the sun. "It wouldn't be that bright if you wore sunglasses or a sun visor. Or, you know, just stopped glaring at the sun." 

Bryce and Ryan both giggled as Jonathan's pout intensified. It wasn't even that bright outside, but Jonathan never left the base that much anyway so it was probably way too blinding for his weak little eyes. Regardless, Evan took his sunglasses off and tossed them over to the complaining man, who gratefully put them on with a smile. 

"That's better. Now, when do we get breakfast?" Jonathan looked back up at Evan with a wide smile, only to earn a glare from Tyler.

"After we catch this fucker and get answers." Once he earned another suitable groan and pout from Jonathan, Tyler looked back at Bryce. "Do you see him yet? Would he even come to class today?"

Bryce slipped his hand out of Ryan's grip and began to look around the school yard. No, he didn't see Anthony just yet but at the moment, this was the biggest lead they had and if he did decide to show up then Bryce would see him before long. Still, no Anthony in sight, but he did see two other familiar faces that were close enough. 

"I don't see him, but I see two of his friends. Galm and Smarty." Bryce pointed towards the two who sat on a bench, notebooks in hand as they had a early morning conversation. He looked back at Ohm and Tyler, noticing their raised eyebrows at the name. "Nicknames. Galm's name is also Anthony, and Smarty-- I don't know why but I go with it."

"Okay, so-- let's go ask them where Anthony is." Ryan already took a step forward, only for a hand to shoot out and pull him back. 

"Bryce can go ask. We'll stay here and keep a look out. If we all head over there, Anthony might see us, or his friends might get defensive." Evan offered his explanation to Ryan, who shot him a glare. "They also know Bryce and from what he says, they're on good terms. I'm sure Bryce can handle this."

Ryan frowned, dejectedly before looking back over towards the two college kids in question. Tyler kind of felt bad for the guy and he wondered if maybe the whole Craig getting kidnapped thing may have left Ryan feeling paranoid. After all, he was one of the few in the group that happened to be dating someone outside of their little power circle. It definitely wasn't something that happened often, for obvious reasons. 

Ryan was a lot calmer than Tyler though. Sure, he had rash moments, but he also knew when to stick to the plan even if it put others at risk. He was more likely to put someone else in danger than someone else and that was something Tyler couldn't help but respect in the guy. 

Even if he spent most of his time on his computer. 

"Evan, let 'em go over there with Bryce. No one knows that we're... you know who... and maybe Ryan can figure out if they're hiding anything. He has that whole memory thing too, maybe something will show up?" Tyler looked over at Ryan for clarification.

Tyler and the rest didn't really know the extent of Ryan's powers and after a while, Ryan seemed to get tired of explaining it. All he knew is that Ryan could do some weird shit with people's memories, and yet, for some reason, it never seemed to work on anyone with powers. Lucky break, really, because who knew what Ryan would do if he could do that to their group of friends.

Really, it was hard for Tyler to keep up with everyone's abilities and left that job to Evan, the leader. All he knew was his own super strength (along with the morphing), a few simple details about the others and Evan's ability to hide his wings and put people to sleep with just a simple look of the eyes. Not really a power you'd expect from the leader, but his take charge attitude was enough to get the job done.

"It's more complicated than that." Ryan grumbled, shoving a hand into his pocket. "I can't go looking through memories, I can only erase and create. And it's extremely difficult, might I add--" 

"Then create a memory that makes them go _'Oh! I just remembered, we have to tell these two kids our plan.'_ It doesn't sound that difficult to me!"

Ryan let out a sigh of exasperation before looking to Evan for help. The leader crossed his arms and sighed, moving back over to Tyler to offer a hand. "Dude, let Ryan, Bryce and Jonathan handle this, okay? Let's just go sit down and stay on standby. You know, like we originally planned. Ryan and Bryce talk, Jonathan stays on standby, we stay on back up standby."

Tyler looked ready to protest but Evan's earlier words stuck with him. They needed to proceed carefully since Craig's safety was on the line. No rash actions, just careful steps needed to bring Craig home safe and sound. "...Fine, fine. Hurry the fuck up, you three."

"Who the fuck died and made you queen?" Jonathan commented, raising an eyebrow as he earned a scowl from Ryan, Evan AND Tyler. 

"Jonathan, just go, don't instigate a fight." Evan scolded as he pulled Tyler away.

"You gonna make me, feather boy?"

"GO."

* * *

  
Ryan and Jonathan both agreed that Jonathan would stand back a bit and look inconspicuous while he and Bryce talked to both of Anthony's friends. As much as it made Ryan feel better to have Jonathan nearby, the boy had an air around him that screamed _"I used to murder people."_ and right now, they definitely needed to keep a calm approach.   
So, Jonathan walked with Ryan and Bryce half way, abandoning them in favor of leaning against a light pole under the guise of checking his phone for something. He spared one final look to brown haired man with a grin before pulling the phone to his ear to make a 'phone call'. Ryan nodded towards him with a soft smile before following Bryce to the two in question. 

As they approached Galm and Smarty, Ryan couldn't help but overhear the conversation they were having about their homework, it seemed.

"What'd you get for number five, Smarty?" Galm asked, looking up from his notebook at the other, who laid back lazily on the bench. 

Smarty held up his notebook, squinting carefully at the answers before dropping it to the side carelessly. "I got B, what'd you get?"

Galm blinked in confusion, looking back at Smarty before glancing towards his notebook. "B? There is no B! Are you sure you're looking at the right homework?" He reached for Smarty's notebook only for his hand to be smacked away by the other.

"Hands off, this is my homework!" 

"Smarty, I let you see my answers last week, don't be a bitch!" Galm pulled back his hand with a pout on his face, not noticing the approaching couple. "Fine, I'll get Chilled's homework when he shows up from--" 

Smarty cut him off immediately as he took notice of Bryce and Ryan. "Hello, gentlemen." He greeted, sitting up in his seat as Galm suddenly whipped his head around to the new arrivals. "What's up?"

Bryce stepped in front of Ryan, offering a friendly wave and a wide smile to follow. "Hey guys! Everything's going good, I'm just looking for one of your friends! Do you know if Anthony is coming today?"

Galm and Smarty both exchanged looks before sparing a glance to Ryan. Finally, Galm smiled back at Bryce, climbing to his feet as Smarty sat up from his place on the bench. "You're Bryce, right? Bryce McQuaid, yeah I remember you." Galm offered a hand, which the blonde gladly took and shook. "Yeah, we call him Chilled, since it's less confusing. Same with me being called Galm. But yeah, he's coming in today, he's just running late, that's all." 

"Like always." Smarty piped in under his breath. "I thought I saw his car not to long ago though, so he'll show up in a few minutes. Why, what'd you need? And who's the guy behind you? Haven't seen him before."

All eyes were on Ryan now, who shifted uncomfortably under their gaze. "I'm Ryan-- I don't go to school here. I just came to hang out with Bryce before he had to go to class. I've already graduated." He hoped that would be enough to direct the topic away from what they wanted. 

Galm and Smarty both nodded in understanding. "Lucky you, my classes all suck. I'd love to graduate soon." Galm commented, turning to shove his notebook back into his bag.

As he turned back around, he seemed to notice someone beyond Ryan and Bryce's shoulder and with a smile, he waved them over. "Hey man, there you are! These guy-- What the _fuck_ happened to your nose?!"

Ryan and Bryce both turned to face the new arrival and sitting in front of them was no other than Anthony Caos himself, a frown on his face and a horrible bruise on his nose that left one word on both of their minds. 

_'Craig...'_

"Hey guys..." Chilled grumbled with a half-hearted wave. He raised an eyebrow at Bryce and Ryan but spared no greeting yet. "Yeah, I ran into something last night. Not a big deal, just hurts like shit."

Galm and Smarty both frowned but didn't pursue the topic any longer. "Right..." Smarty mumbled, before looking back at Bryce. "Bryce wanted to ask you something, by the way."

"Oh yeah?" Chilled turned back to Bryce and Ryan, unceremoniously dropping the bag next to the bench. The charming smile that Bryce was so used to seeing came back to Chilled's face, and it left Ryan feeling uncomfortable. "Okay, sure, what's up? Tell me what you need, Bryce."

Ryan wasn't sure how he felt about the way Chilled batted his eyes towards his boyfriend, as his voice went as soft as honey and the feeling in his chest only got worse when he noticed just how calm and collected Smarty and Galm got as soon as Chilled had arrived. Before they just seemed clueless, but now they seemed like they knew exactly what was going to happen.

Ryan didn't and the next words out of Bryce's mouth left him shocked. 

"I wanted to ask you where Craig was." The moment the words left him mouth, Bryce paled in the face as the realization hit him. He looked back at Ryan with wide, apologetic eyes and Ryan wasn't sure how to respond.

"He... He means--" Ryan started again, trying to fix what was said. "Our friend Craig vanished last night and Bryce noticed you standing in the hallway as he left his apartment. We assumed you lived there and we wanted to ask you if you saw something suspicious." 

Bryce nodded quickly, saying nothing else as Chilled looked back at Galm and Smarty. Finally, he looked Ryan straight in the eye and took on the same expression he had used on Bryce and Ryan felt even more uncomfortable. "Really? Is that true? Tell me."

"O-Of course it is!" Ryan answered hurriedly and for some reason, that answer alone was enough to catch Chilled off guard.

"..It is?" Chilled blinked frowning a bit as he looked back at Bryce. "Is it?"

Ryan's heart dropped when Bryce shook his head lightly and he began to wonder what the fuck Bryce was doing! He was ruining the entire plan and he wasn't sure why he would even begin to do such a thing! He cared about Craig as much as the rest of them and if Anthony was behind it, they didn't need to fuck this up. 

_'Okay, time to do over then.'_ Ryan thought to himself, staring hard at Chilled, Galm and Smarty. He needed to erase their memory of this conversation and just start over, and he took a mental note to take Bryce and ask him what his deal was before then. But as he tried to find, pick and switch out the memories, he realized that nothing was coming to mind for him to fix. 

He wasn't able to access the memories and that only happened when he dealt with other super powered-- 

Oh.

The realization on Ryan's face must have been obvious as Chilled was quick to look back at him with the same look of realization. And then he smirked. Ryan glared back, stepping up beside Bryce to put a hand on his shoulder. It was starting to make sense now. Chilled had powers, just like he did and he was getting answers out of Bryce with them. 

This wasn't some sort of regular kidnapping anymore. And at this point, he couldn't leave them alone to go and get Evan and Tyler. 

What should he do?

* * *

  
_"I guess it was only a matter of time before one of your sweethearts got kidnapped."_ Sark's voice spoke plainly through the speaker of Evan's phone. _"Now, Evan, when I said that you two should become superheros like in the movies, I didn't mean it this literal."_

Evan chanced a glance over at Tyler, thanking God that he didn't seem to give a fuck about the current conversation he was having with their former guardian on the phone. He sighed into the speaker and ran a hand over his forehead. "Come on, Sark. It's not like it was on purpose."

_"I know, I'm fucking with you. Brock told me all of the details. That's why I'm callin'."_

"Brock told you? Good..." Evan stepped away from Tyler and from where he stood, he could see Jonathan across the courtyard, still leaning against that pole with his phone in hand. Texting Luke, most likely. "What do you think of it?" He noticed Jonathan look up and wave with a grin.

Evan couldn't help but smile and wave back. 

_"I think you need to slow it down and not do the thing that you're doing."_

What?

Evan immediately turned away from Jonathan, frown on his face. What was Sark talking about? Why would they stop the plan to save Tyler's boyfriend? "Huh?"

Sark paused, and for that moment, Evan pictured him running a hand over his face and the sigh that was heard only confirmed Evan's imagination. Finally, he answered, _"Your suspect is Anthony Caos, right?"_

Evan hummed in agreement.

_"Around your age, maybe a little younger or older, but who's counting?"_ Sark's voice was knowing and the tone left Evan feeling weird, like he was missing out on something. _"Yeah, Evan, y'see, I heard the story from Brock and it was all well and all, but then I realized that the name sounded really familiar so I asked Brian if he could share the files that Ryan found. And then I looked into some of my old files..."_

The moment Sark mentioned his own files, Evan's blood ran cold. 

His thoughts rushed back to the lab that he and Tyler were both raised in, picked at and poked by needles daily, examined near 24/7. He thought of their escape when they were just entering their pre-teens, and being found days later by Sark, who immediately took them in. He revealed about two years later that he used to be involved with the scientists that researched Evan and Tyler, and countless other Special children but ended up quitting for personal reasons. 

He promised not to tell. Years later, he's still keeping that promise even after they've long moved out of his house and into apartments of their own. 

"...Your... your old files? What did you find?" Evan glanced back at Tyler with a frown, noticing how he perked up once Old Files were mentioned.

_"Well..."_ Sark started, seemingly unsure about how to bring it up. _"I didn't wanna tell you this, but Anthony Caos was definitely one of the children that was brought up in the same lab you were."_

Evan froze and took a deep breath, ignoring the look of curiosity on Tyler's face. "...Okay. So he has powers like us. So why--"

"Who has powers? You better not be talking about this guy who has Craig!" 

Tyler went ignored for the time being as Evan continued to listen intently to Sark's words. _"I'm guessing you remember Doctor Adam Montoya, right?"_ Sark's words were careful as he tried to judge the situation. _"I guess you'd remember the guy who, uh... did that science-y stuff to you. Well, he's the one responsible for their powers too. And I don't really think they got away from him."_

No... no, no, no, no...

"What the fuck are you suggesting, Sark?" Evan watched in fear as Tyler moved over to Evan and placed his ear near the cellphone. 

_"I'm suggesting that this Caos guy is working for Montoya and that he's the one behind the kidnapping."_

And that was all Tyler needed to hear before he took off running to find Bryce, Ryan and more importantly, Anthony Caos. 

* * *

  
_**All day, everyday, I see nothing but my white room. Two days a week, I see my caretaker as she walks me through the plain boring hallway into the plain boring testing room. I always see a man there, smiling down at me widely.** _

_**"Tyler, I hear it's your eighth birthday! Happy birthday! Now, let's get started on the testing, yeah? Yeah!" He's always smiling, always happy to perform the tests. I don't really trust that smile.** _

_**"Are my parents coming today?" I ask, without a shred of hope in my voice.** _

_**"We'll see, but the tests come first, okay?" He answers and I shrug in response. The tests always come first.** _

Tyler ran away from Evan and into the courtyard as fast as he could, nearly running into Jonathan as he spun around to try and spot Ryan and Bryce. Jonathan jumped in surprise, asking what Tyler's deal was but the other ignored him. He was in too much of a panic, too enraged by the fact that the man who made his and Evan's life a living hell was back in the city and likely had his hands on his boyfriend.

He spotted Ryan and Bryce a little bit away, Ryan standing in front of Bryce in a way the subtly said he was on the defensive. He hurried over.

_**"What's your name?"** _

_**I look down at the raven haired boy with a frown, and he stares back up at me with wide eyes. The feathers on his wings ruffle slightly as he looks back down at his book, shyly. "...Evan. My caretaker says I shouldn't talk to you."** _

_**"Mine says that too, but she's a bitch. I don't care." I frown and Evan nearly gasps at my language. He curls up a bit as if he were going to get caught.** _

_**"My caretaker threatens to take me to Dr. Montoya if I'm bad like that. I don't like Dr. Montoya, he's kinda scary. And his tests always hurt..." Evan whispers softly, eyes darting around the room. "He always says my parents are gonna come see me, but they never do."** _

_**I wanted to say that they never would. That Dr. Montoya was lying. That their parents likely gave them both up just to make a lot of money. Instead, I sat down beside him and patted his head. "My name is Tyler, by the way. I'm gonna get out of here one day. Do you wanna come with me?"** _

_**"...Yes, please."** _

Chilled, Galm and Smarty were all surprised at the sudden appearance of Tyler, but Ryan and Bryce seemed to be more surprised. Tyler stood there, glaring down at Chilled with dangerous eyes. The bruise on his nose stuck out the most to Tyler, and by then, he just knew  this guy was guilty. 

Craig fought him. He wasn't a small guy, he had been working out recently. He had a personal trainer and everything and that bruise wasn't made by someone small. Craig must have fought so hard. He must have kicked, slapped, scratched, punched... 

The anger in Tyler's chest intensified and suddenly he grabbed onto Chilled's shirt and pulled him forward, earning a protest from him and his two friends.

_**"I don't want to do anymore tests!" I scream out in a rage, kicking and swiping at anyone who dared to come near me.** _

_**On the other side of the room, He stood there with a clipboard in hand as he watched me in amusement. The other doctors are scattered around the room, with worried expressions. One has a needle in their hand. I'm not sure if it's a tranquilizer or another one of his experiments. I don't want to find out.** _

_**"Come on now, Tyler. This is the last test for the month, it'll be okay..." He tries to sound soothing but I've been here since I was a baby.** _

_**He doesn't know how to be soothing.** _

_**"I DON'T WANNA TEST ANYMORE. IT HURTS ME. IT HURTS EVAN. JUST LEAVE US ALONE." I cry out, swinging my fist out to hit the wall next to me, leaving a huge dent in the wall next to me. A nearby doctor grabs onto my arm.** _

"Where the fuck is he?" Tyler spoke in a growl, teeth gritted as he stared Chilled straight in the eye. 

The smaller gripped at Tyler's hands that held onto his shirt, trying to tear him off but to no avail. He kicked and choked out for Tyler to let him go, for Galm and Smarty to stop him, but Ryan immediately stepped in to intercept Smarty from stepping forward, and from the corner of his eye, Tyler could see Jonathan rush onto the scene to handle Galm. Bryce began to back away, fear overtaking his features, and Evan would likely be on the scene as well.

They had Chilled, Galm and Smarty out numbered and surrounded and there weren't any witnesses out on the school grounds. Of course, Tyler couldn't account for cameras, but that was fine. He didn't need his powers to destroy a punk like this.

"Get OFF of me, NOW." Chilled delivered a sharp kick to Tyler's knee, almost causing him to double over but Tyler retaliated by throwing the Italian to the ground and kicking his leg, harshly. 

Galm and Smarty immediately rushed into action, though Galm was immediately pushed down by Jonathan and a quick knife being pulled out and pointed towards the man was enough to stop Smarty, who immediately held his hands up in surrender. 

"Hey-- put that away, man..." He spoke slowly, eyeing Jonathan and Tyler closely as Evan ran onto the scene.

_**When the lights began blaring red and the alarm started to go off, I took the chance to break out of my room, grab Evan and run away. I don't know why the facility went nuts like it did, but within the chaos, no one even tried to stop us. Everything was entering lock down mode, but that didn't matter. I tore a door off of the wall with ease and dragged Evan out of the facility with panicked breaths.** _

_**I don't know how long we ran after we left the building, but I do know that we ran until I couldn't run anymore. Our legs gave out, and we collapsed into an exhausted mess on the ground.** _

_**After we rested, we ran some more, finally finding a spot in the wilderness to hide. Hide until Dr. Montoya gave up on us. Hide until we were safe. I wasn't going to let Dr. Montoya hurt us like that ever again.** _

"Jesus fucking Christ--" Evan's voice grabbed everyone's attention as the raven haired boy ran onto the scene, phone long discarded. He looked over towards Smarty, then over at Galm and Jonathan, before finally settling his eyes on Tyler and Chilled. "You know, this isn't the way I wanted this to work out."

"Eh. We've had worse plans." Jonathan moved his foot onto Galm's chest to keep him from moving before putting the knife away. "He was the one who made the first move. What happened?"

Tyler glared back at Chilled, who tried to claw at the fist that clung to his collar. Tyler responded by shaking him a bit. "These assholes are Montoya's lackeys! Nanners is the one who's behind the kidnapping!"

Ryan and Jonathan both blinked and looked over at Evan for clarification. They had both heard their tales of their time back in the labs, and they especially heard about the cruel tests done by Adam Montoya himself. So when they saw the small nod of Evan's head, confirming Tyler's words, their eyes narrowed dangerously. 

"So, what do we do?" Ryan asked, staring down Smarty, who could only take a couple of steps back. 

"Kill them, what else?!" Jonathan answered in a voice filled with glee, and fear flooded Galm's face. 

"No, we're not killing them." Evan immediately cut Jonathan off, earning a frown in response. "We'll take them with us, get some answers out of them. We'll get Craig back that way." 

"You're gonna drag three unwilling students back to your place. Because that'll end well." Smarty rolled his eyes, earning another glare from Tyler and Jonathan. Underneath Tyler, Chilled began to mumble.

"They have a car, don't they?"

"We do indeed have a car." Evan confirmed, earning a curse from Chilled. "Alright, everyone, round up." He glanced back at Tyler and Jon and then motioned towards the car. "You two are driving them back to base. The rest of us will take the bus."

"And... um... I think I'll just go to class now." Bryce mumbled, glancing towards Ryan with an apologetic glance. "I'm not gonna be much help from here on out, right? Plus, I'd rather be somewhere crowded as well. Just in case..."

Ryan slowly nodded, quickly understanding his point. "Okay. Okay, that's fine by me."

"Great idea." Tyler piped up, yanking Chilled up to his feet, earning an irritated groan from the other. "Try to stay around people you know and trust, Bryce. We'll get Ryan to check in on ya, okay?" With that, he and Jonathan both began to pull Chilled and Galm towards the car, with Smarty trailing behind them helplessly. 

"See you back at base, then?" Evan looked towards Tyler with a small smile. "Don't do anything dumb?"

"Eh. We'll see."

* * *

  
It wasn't until hours later from his constant wiggling that Craig heard a crack in the wooden chair he was tied to. It made the man freeze as he processed exactly what he heard, and that's when his wiggling turned desperate and began to intensify. One of the arms of the wooden chair must have cracked or loosened when Ze kicked him over and neither of the kidnappers had bothered to come in and check on his well being or the chair's. 

That was a good thing.

It took a lot of twisting and turning, scooting and pushing before the arm finally broke off with a satisfying crack. His left hand was free, and while his right was his dominant hand, it was more than enough to quickly free his remaining limbs from their binds. He almost wanted to cry out in relief. Almost.

But the fact of the matter stood that he was still in very dangerous territory and he still had to be careful and find a way out of the room they kept him in. Not to mention that his legs were slightly numb from being still for almost fourteen hours, maybe more. He carefully climbed to his feet and grabbed onto the broken chair arm and gripped it tightly. 

Ze or Chilled had to come in sooner or later, and that would be his chance to escape. The minute someone opened the door and walked in, he would take the chance. So, quickly getting the feeling back into his legs, he moved over to the door and pressed himself against the wall next to it, listening. 

He waited for what seemed forever and he was quickly becoming overwhelmed with the tension that crept through his body. His palms were sweaty, his heart was rapidly beating and he was taking short and nervous breaths. Two pairs of footsteps heard on the other side of the door made him flinch. The time was now. 

Surely it had to be Ze and Chilled.

_"He's in here. ..Might be on the ground, though. I kinda got mad last night."_ Ze's voice was heard, earning a chuckle from his companion. The chuckle was unfamiliar, which made Craig put his guard up higher. So that wasn't Chilled, then. 

The door opened and Craig took in a sharp intake of breath. Ze took one step into the room, stopped when he noticed the broken chair and the rope thrown across the floor and before he could begin to wonder what happened, Craig jumped out and swung the wooden chair piece against the man's head. 

Ze stumbled back with a pained grunt, giving Craig the chance to push past and run out of the room. Of course, he ran smack into Ze's companion, an older man with a wide smirk planted on his face, and the man reacted by quickly grabbing onto Craig's wrists and laughed. 

"WHOA there, Tiger, where exactly are you heading--" He barely got the sentence out before Craig reacted by trying to knee him in the gut, and the man merely jumped back, laughing in amusement as he let go. "Hey now, that's rude!" 

Craig swung the wooden piece again, striking the visitor against the chest and took off sprinting. "FUCK OFF, LEAVE ME ALONE!!" He didn't look back, and hearing the man just laugh it off did nothing but unnerve him. He made his escape, and yet, he still felt unsafe.

"We've got a fighter, Ze, I like it!" His voice was heard behind. "Now go and bring him back, please. Thanks." 

That was the last thing as Craig turned a corner and left to find somewhere to hide.


	4. Section C

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS ABOUT A MONTH LATE AND I'M SUPER SORRY BUT GUESS WHO SAT DOWN AND FORCED IT OUT! This gal!   
> But ye this chapter is mostly to focus on other parts of the superhero au, but don't worry, the minicat will return soon! Sorry for the long wait. Please continue to be patient with me - <3 Crest

"Wow, this kid is a slippery little guy, isn't he?" Nanners' voice echoed throughout the room.

Craig had ran for a good while, only to realize that he was trapped in some sort of abandoned warehouse. This couldn't have gotten more cliche if it had tried. Really, he couldn't help but wonder why Tyler and the rest weren't looking through every warehouse in town because these 'Bad guys' apparently had no sense of originality. 

Of course, it's not like he was being any more smarter than them. Here he was, currently crouched behind a large pile of boxes, trying to catch his breath and attempting to find an easy way out before Ze and Nanners found his position. He could only press himself against the large crates as hard as possible when Nanners' voice echoed throughout the large room. 

"I texted Chilled and told him to skip his classes and come back and help, but he's not answering." Ze's voice followed soon after, sounding more exasperated than anything.   
Kidnappers that kidnap their victim and then go to school like good little boys. Wow. Just wow. 

"What about Galm? Text him and tell him to get over here." As Craig listened in to their conversation, he looked around, noticing a nearby door that was shut tightly. He could always make a run for that door, if it were unlocked. 

Footsteps got closer to his position, causing him to freeze. Nanners and Ze were incredibly close to him and he wondered if it was worth making a run for that door. He heard the click of a cellphone unlocking and the quick taps of the buttons. Ze was likely texting this Galm person which meant Craig had to go now before their reinforcements got here.  So, he took off with a sprint, heading straight for the door as quick as he could. Ze immediately spotted him, screaming out after him in annoyance.

"Nanners!! Over here!!" He heard the man pursue after him but Craig never looked back.

Until a blinding light hit his eyes before he could even reach the door. 

He stumbled over his feet and fell to his knees to shield his eyes as his headache intensified. His head felt as if it were splitting and his ears were ringing. It was all too much and even as the light died down, he couldn't open his eyes. It was only until he felt a rough hand grab onto his arm did he start to fight back. 

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME." He swung out, trying to punch and kick at Ze, who struggled to hold his grip.

"Will you PLEASE stop struggling?!" Ze cried out, growing more angry with every passing second. Another punch to the face was given and Ze was thrown back to the floor as Craig scrambled to his feet to get away. 

Nanners was the one to grab him and pull him back. Before Craig could even attempt to escape, _ **(Thrashing, kicking, screaming, he has to get away, he has to--)**_ there's a tiny prick at his neck that stuns him and suddenly he's on his knees. Nanners threw the needle aside and held Craig up by his shirt, long enough to lean down and look him in the eyes with a grin.

"Nice try~! But I can't have you leave just yet! Sorry about that! Lucky I had that tranquilizer, huh? I always had to have one handy for Tyler when we used to test him, so I guess you two really ARE a perfect match." Nanners could only laugh as Craig tried to push him away with a grunt. "Hey now, that's not nice."

"Wh... What do you _want?_!" Craig forced out, falling to the ground when his shirt was released. He struggled to sit up, body feeling heavy from the tranquilizer.

Everything was getting fuzzy. Nanners spoke and his words echoed heavily in Craig's head.

"I want Vanoss and Wildcat's powers back! That's all. And you're the way I'm gonna be able to get them here." Get their powers back? He could do that? What would happen to them if that were to happen? Tyler always mentioned that whatever they had gone through back then had been really painful and--

_I need to warn Tyler. I need to warn... someone?_

He tried to push away, mumbling Tyler's name but he was too out of it to do much damage. He remembered being lifted to his feet before ultimately passing out against whoever had lifted him up. 

\---

"This couldn't have gone worse..." Smarty mumbled to the two men sat by his side. 

Galm and Chilled both exchanged glances before looking towards their captors in the front seat. Tyler and Jonathan looked back through the rear view mirror, one with a glare and the other with a sly grin on his face. Galm shifted uncomfortably in his seat while Chilled immediately shot them a bird. They were currently in the backseat of Tyler's car, being driven to their hideout for questioning and judging by the look on Tyler's and Jonathan's face, they weren't going to have a good time. 

Jonathan sat up in his seat and turned around to face the three captives with a grin. "Hey, that's what you get for kidnapping Craig. It's like you WANTED to die!" Jon's voice was a little too cheerful at that and it sent chills down their spines. 

"Wait, are you actually gonna kill us...!?" Smarty cried out, sinking deeper into his seat. 

Jonathan only giggled before flopping back down into his seat. When they received no answer, they looked between each other again in worry. Chilled tugged at his tank top anxiously while Smarty clasped his hands together while chewing his lip. Galm attempted to calm both of them down by throwing an arm around Smarty and resting his hand on Chilled's shoulder, rubbing it gently. 

In the front seat, they all heard their confiscated phones go off and both Galm and Chilled held their breaths as Jonathan picked them up and read the messages, out loud. " _'Hey Chilled, something happened. Skip your classes and come help me and Adam.'_ " Tyler visibly flinched but said nothing as Jonathan read the message on Galm's phone. " _'Hey, Chilled's not answering his phone. I need you to come back and help Adam and I with something.'"_

"...What the fuck does that mean?" Tyler finally spoke, not taking his eyes off the road but the way his fists tightened around the steering wheel said it all. He was worried. Something was going on with Craig and it was taking every bit of strength he had not to pull over and beat the answers out of the three in the back seat. 

Jonathan hated that he was the one who had to be the "Good Influence" this time around. He wanted to just let Tyler loose and see what would happen but Evan would kill him if he let that happen. So, instead, he sighed in annoyance and dropped the phones into his hoodie pocket.  "Hey, they were asking for _help_. Maybe Craig is handling this as best as he can until he can get to him. Don't blow up just yet." 

"Craig shouldn't be in this situation to begin with..." Tyler grumbled, pointing a glare through the rear view mirror at Chilled. "He shouldn't have to be fighting for his fucking life out there."

Jonathan huffed out an annoyed breath of air. "No, he shouldn't have to but he is so get over it. We're going as fast as we can here. Montoya isn't going to kill Craig before we get there. He wants you and Vanoss for some reason and he won't do anything until you're there. And then, we'll have a chance to stop it."

Tyler looked away from the mirror and focused back on the road with a sigh. "Stop hanging out with Evan, he's too much of an influence on you." 

"I happen to think it's a good influence." Jonathan smirked a bit, leaning back in his seat. "If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be in jail. Or dead." 

"Probably dead." Tyler admitted, knowing they were getting close to Sark's place now. "But let's not get into that now. We have ears in the back--" He glanced back up at the rear view mirror and froze. 

All he saw in the backseat was Galm, who wrung his wrists nervously, avoiding all eye contact with his captors. Before Tyler could process what had happened, he slammed on breaks as fast as he could, earning a startled shriek from Jonathan.

\---

_"So, what's your power, Smarty?"_

_"My name is John..."_

_"Oh, Chilled calls you Smarty though. Can I call you that?"_

_"I mean... if you really want to."_

_"So what's your power? I can freeze things!"_

_"Oh... That's cool. I can teleport."_

_"Oh, that's so cool! Can you teleport me?"_

_"As long as you hold my hand... But that really makes me tired and makes my chest hurt. Don't make me do it right now, okay?"_

_"Fiiine... but one day, promise me that you'll teleport me too! I'll take care of you afterwards."_

_"Um... Okay, I promise."_

\---

Galm watched Tyler and Jonathan closely, waiting for some sort of opening or anything. He had a plan but he didn't have any opportunity to say it out loud, much less get Smarty or Chilled to agree to it. Still, if there was any way to get Smarty and Chilled out of there, it had to be this way. When Tyler looked away from them, Galm took his chance and almost instantly, he nudged Smarty in the side, gaining his attention. Smarty and Chilled both looked over at Galm, curiously, only for their faces to fall when Galm started gesturing outside of the car. Smarty immediately shook his head in disagreement but Chilled pursed his lips in thought. 

Galm could only sigh before speaking in a soft whisper. "Smarty, Ze and Adam need you guys. Take Chilled and teleport away."

"No!" Smarty hissed back, grabbing onto Chilled's and Galm's hand. "I can only teleport with one person. If I leave you behind, they'll kill you."

"No, they won't because he's the only one who knows anything." Chilled mumbled, earning a glare from Smarty. "But I think I should stay... Galm, you go."

"No, absolutely not. I have a way to protect myself. You don't." Galm tore his hand away from Smarty and nudged him closer to Chilled. "We don't have time for this. You two have to go, now. I'll catch up."

"Bullshit--" 

"Smarty, now." Galm hissed back, glare turning into a pleading frown. 

They were all nervous, hearts beating fast in their chests. This could go to hell at any moment; they all knew this. Galm was going to get the worst of it but he was right. They wouldn't kill him, so long as he knew something. So Smarty gave a defeated sigh before grasping onto Chilled's hand tightly. 

"Galm, be careful, okay? Don't fuck this up." Chilled's warning was filled with worry as he tried to make light of the situation. Galm could only wave him off.

"I will. Be careful, guys."

Smarty let out a small whimper before closing his eyes. He thought of one of the many places they had passed on their way to the hideout. A coffee shop, a grocery store, the college... An alleyway next to the coffee shop seemed ideal. No one was around it, no one would notice them...

That's where he wanted to go. He tightened his grip on Chilled's hand and took a deep breath. He felt his body tense up immensely as he put his powers into use and before Galm knew it, both Smarty and Chilled had vanished from the car. 

And that's when the car slammed on brakes. 

\---

_"You actually caught him?"_

Evan sat next to Ryan, staring out the window with his phone pressed to his ear. He was on the phone with Sark, yet again, to let him know how things went after Tyler had run off when they last talked to him. Sark seemed decently surprised that they didn't totally fuck the entire plan up. 

"Yeah, Tyler and Jon are heading back with Anthony, and two of his accomplices now. Sounds like you were right. Montoya is very likely behind this." Evan kept his voice low as Ryan kept his eye on everyone on the bus. So far, no one seemed to care about their conversation and Evan planned to keep it that way. "Tell the others to be ready to interrogate. I kinda want you there since you KNOW Anthony, apparently."

Sark was silent for a moment, as if thinking it over. _"I wouldn't say that but I did tests with him once or twice. He was primarily Adam's subject, though. But I do have his files and shit so I'll see what I can do. What about his accomplices?"_

Evan thought back to Galm and Smarty, wondering what their deal was. They were friends with Chilled, yeah, but were they human? Did they have powers? "I don't know their full names but Anthony called them Galm and Smarty. I think Bryce said that Galm's name was Anthony and Smarty's was John but that's really all I know about them. But they acted like they were involved."

"Plus, Brian can always scan them when we get back." Ryan mumbled, earning a hum of agreement from Evan.

_"Galm and Smarty? Weird nicknames but I guess it's better than a pig called Wildcat and fucking Moo Snuckel."_ This earned a laugh from Evan.

"Leave Brock alone. It's better than Early Bird." 

_"No, it's really not."_ Sark sighed. _"I'll tell everyone to get ready for our guests. Should I put some lemonade out or something?"_

"Sark, this is serious, you know." Evan rolled his eyes. Then he paused. "...But yeah, that would be nice. I'm thirsty. But real talk, we'll be there soon. Talk to you later." Evan hung up his cellphone and shoved it into his pocket before glancing over at Ryan, who suddenly looked down at his feet in worry. 

"So... Doctor Montoya should only be after you, right?" Ryan's question was slow and filled with uncertainty, though Evan couldn't blame him. Adam was a touchy subject for himself and Tyler. But, with what they were going against, it was better to get all of the questions out of the way.

"You weren't raised or... developed in a lab, so you should be fine, if that's what you're worried about." It was true, most of their members didn't get their powers like he and Tyler did. From his understanding, Ryan developed his powers in his childhood, Brock found his powers just last year, Brian was built in some other, unrelated lab, Delirious didn't have powers and Cartoonz was just a mystery on his own but he claimed he didn't grow up in a lab. Most of their team didn't have history with Adam so they were likely safe. "He should be after only me and Tyler. Maybe Lui, but then again, he was raised in an entire different building. He doesn't have history like we do." 

Ryan nodded silently, thinking over the events that have taken place in the last day or so. It was a lot to take in, honestly. "Okay, let me recap. You and Tyler were raised in this secret... lab or something that raised animal hybrids with super powers. You, Tyler and Lui were raised in this lab."

"Mm-hm, Tyler and I were in the same section. Section C. Lui was in section B so we never really got to meet him back when we were there. The first time we ever met him was when we met Nogla." Evan leaned back in his seat, folding his arms with a frown. "Anyway, Section C subjects had to deal with Dr. Montoya. So, I assume Lui never had to deal with him."

Ryan hummed in understanding, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, but what about Sark? He used to be involved with that lab, right? What section was he in?"

"Section A mostly? But he told me that he really only had to step in when other doctors couldn't make it to their tests. He quit long before I started testing. Fast forward a few years after that, Tyler, Lui and I suffer for a while, and then some rebel faction decides that they suddenly don't like the way they're raising these kids and they break into the lab, blow some shit up and Tyler decides that's the chance to grab me and escape. Sark finds us, takes us in and now we're superheroes." 

Evan sped through the rest of the story, already on edge from current events. Thinking of his childhood only made it worse. For the longest time after their escape, he and Tyler spent many nights thinking that the scientists were going to come and get them. And it only got worse when Sark revealed who he really was. And finally, after all of this time getting over it...

"I hate that, out of nowhere, he came back. He came back and saw our aliases and immediately knew who we were. He knew how to look us up, found out where Tyler was staying, who he was dating--" Evan's fist clenched tightly and he took a deep breath to try and calm himself. "Tyler took care of me back then. He's like a brother and seeing this happen pisses me off so bad. But I have to stay calm for Tyler. We all do. Because if he gets angry and does something he shouldn't do, and Adam ends up hurting or killing Craig-- I... I don't know if I'll be able to face Tyler anymore."

Silence followed their conversation soon after as the two boys leaned back into their seats. Casual conversations carried on around them as the bus slowly turned the corner. Ryan and Evan said nothing more for a few moments, trying to calm themselves with the sounds of the people around them living their normal lives. Finally, Ryan reached over and patted at Evan's shoulder, awkwardly. 

"We'll get through this. Try not to stress too much. There's too many of us in the group to let Adam do what he wants." Ryan's words were carefully chosen and Evan wondered if he spent the entire silence trying to think of what to say. Still, he appreciated the meaning behind them and thanks Ryan with a small smile before feeling his phone buzz like crazy. 

Taking the device back out, he noticed Tyler's name on the Caller I.D. and quickly answered it without hesitation. "Hey, Tyler, did you make it back to the--"

_"EVAN!"_ Evan snapped to attention once Jonathan's voice screamed throughout the speaker. Ryan must have heard it too, since he sat up in his seat with concern on his face.

_"EVAN, Something happened! Chilled and one of the other boys just fucking vanished from the back seat of the car! We need you over here RIGHT NOW."_

"Vanished?! They're gone? What about the other one?" Evan stared over at Ryan with a look of disbelief. 

_"The-- The fuck did I just say?!"_ Evan sighed and rolled his eyes at Jonathan's words, waiting for him to continue. _"Yes. They are gone. G-O-N-E. One is still here though-- Galm, I think? But yeah, get over here before Tyler kills our only lead. He's SO pissed off right now!"_

"Shit... Alright, fine, I'm coming. Where are you?" 

Evan got the directions from the panicked man over the phone and once he figured out where he needed to go and everything, he hung up on Jonathan and hurried over to the driver, begging him to stop and let him and Ryan off. It took a few minutes of fussing and arguing but Evan must have annoyed the poor driver enough since he nearly slammed on brakes and demanded for them to get off of his bus.

Evan and Ryan happily obliged. 

Once the driver drove off, Evan made a beeline for the nearest alleyway, reaching into his pocket to pull out his folded up mask, but the lack of a partner made him stop. He paused and glanced behind him, eyeing Ryan closely as he stared down the street from where they came from. 

Back towards the college. 

_Back towards Bryce._

"Ryan, are you okay?" Evan grabbed his attention, watching as he forced his eyes away from the road back back towards the red jacketed man. 

"Um... No. Not really." Ryan stepped back a little, pursing his lips. "Chilled and Smarty are free right now and... I'm kinda worried about Bryce." 

Evan hummed in understanding, pulling his mask out of his pocket. He thought it over for a small second as he stared down at the mask in his hands. He doubted that Chilled and Smarty would go back to the college right after escaping and they had no reason to target Bryce since Ryan had no connection to Adam. 

Still, Ryan wasn't much of a fighter anyway. Unless he was given a weapon, he mostly stood back and provided strategy or something along those lines. And he knew that if he didn't go and check on Bryce, he would be distracted the entire time. So, he offered a small smile towards the man. "So, we're splitting ways then."

"Well, I mean, you were gonna fly there anyway, right?" Ryan made a very good point. Evan has carried someone while flying before but... well. He couldn't do it for very long. And it wasn't very safe. "I'll stay around the college and wait for Bryce and then we'll come back to Sark's."

Evan nodded softly, and as if to convince him more, Ryan smiled and patted the bag that hung from his shoulder. "I also have my laptop so I'll try and find out more about the situation for you, okay?" 

"Alright. Fine, go on ahead." Evan turned to walk deeper into the alley with a smile. "I'll call you once I get everything calmed down. See ya later." 

"Have fun!" 

Ryan hurried down the street, moving to wave down a cab and that was the last Evan saw of him as he reached the end of the alley. He pulled the mask over his face, replacing his face with the face of an owl. He stretched out his arms and with a small groan, his wings morphed from his back, throwing brown and white feathers all across the ground. 

His wings stretched and ruffled, washing away any tension that Vanoss held in from hiding his wings for so long. Finally, he wasted no time in flapping his wings and taking off into the blue sky. He heard people gasp and point him out from the ground and he couldn't help but smile slightly. But then the situation was quickly remembered and he made sure to pick up the pace. As he sped through the air, he bit his lip anxiously as he neared the address that Jonathan had given him. 

It was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also *cough*PolyDerpCrew?*cough* Also, i've been in a huge vanoss/ohm kick so here, have vanoss/ohm brotp??


End file.
